Return to Twili
by Elisafairy
Summary: A full year has passed since Ganondorf was defeated, and everything is back to normal in Hyrule. Princess Zelda once again reins over the land, and Link is once again a simple goat herder who misses Midna terribly. But something connects them once again.
1. Chapter 1: Midna's Return

Link rode Epona through Ordon Village. Nothing new ever happened here. He used to love the peace and quiet, but now it just brought him boredom… and longing for another adventure. Everything was back to the way they used to be, and he missed having adventure.

It had been a year since he defeated Ganondorf, a year since Midna returned to her world and shattered the mirror that linked their worlds. One long, depressing year. Link had thought it would be great when he was done saving the world, but now he wished there was something else to do, other than herd goats. _Why can't I have just one more adventure?_

_At least Zelda gets to rule the kingdom. That's got to be exciting._ Link jumped off of Epona and tied her to a post, then walked to Ordon Spring. _This is where that whole adventure began, isn't it?_ He sat down on the ground in front of the spring, thinking about Midna. _Why'd she have to go? Everything is safe now. She could have left the portal open. Then we could see each other any time we wanted to._ He felt a tear flow down his cheek.

The tear drop hit the spring water and began to swirl, black as ink, spreading through the water. Link gasped and jumped back. The inky drop continued to spread, then rose out of the water and formed a small human shape. The water cleared, and so did the figure floating in the air above the water's surface.

"Midna!" Link cried. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see how you were getting along without me. That's why I'm in imp form. I had to be in this form to hide as your shadow."

"How long have you been watching me?"

"A couple of months or so."

"What? Why didn't you let me know you were here?"

"Like I said, I was seeing how you were getting along without me. You were getting along pretty badly, so I thought I'd cheer you up."

"Why did you ever shatter the mirror? I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," she said, and hugged him. "I didn't want another Ganondorf coming to my world and wreaking havoc, though. We'll keep our evil rulers in our world, and you keep your evil rulers in yours."

Link laughed. "Okay, we will. But how did you get here?"

Midna shrugged. "You know I've got power. I just teleported. I didn't come before because I've been busy. Ruling the Twilight Kingdom isn't as easy as it looks, you know."

_Maybe Zelda isn't having such a great time either, then, _Link thought. "How are things in the Twilight Kingdom?"

Midna looked away. "Fine," she said quietly. "How about here?"

"Perfect, I guess. A little too perfect. I miss saving the world and being somebody. You'd think I'd be something special after all that, but I'm back to being just a regular goat herder like before."

Midna began to speak, then hesitated. They were silent for a while, then Midna asked, "So… have you gone to visit Princess Zelda any?"

"Yeah," Link said. A look of mixed feelings came over Midna's face. Link thought he detected some jealousy, but it was mostly just sadness. Her yellow and red eyes were watery. "But only once," Link said quickly. "I wanted to see how things were doing now that she's back on the throne. She's doing well, by the way." After a moment of silence he asked, "What's wrong? You two used to be like sisters, but now you seem upset with her."

Midna forced a pointy-toothed smile. "It's nothing. Hey, have you gone 'wolf' on anyone lately?"

Link shook his head. "I forgot I could do that. I haven't really felt like doing much of anything lately, anyway."

Midna grinned mischievously.

Link galloped through Hyrule fields, flying over the green grass that swayed in the wind. The sky was bright blue, and the sun shone down brightly. Midna bounced up and down on his back, and he turned his maned head back to give her a nervous look. "Are you sure about this?" he whined.

"Trust me," Midna said. "Faster, puppy!" she shouted, kicking Link in the sides.

Link growled, but just kept running until they stopped at the front gate to Castle Town. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Midna crossed her legs and did a motion with her hand, rolling her eyes up to look at the sky. "Pfft! Scaredy-cat!" Link growled again. "Pardon the expression, doggie," Midna continued, "But I've done stuff like this plenty of times."

"Hey, don't you always nag that I shouldn't 'go wolf' around other people."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I said you shouldn't transform in front of people. I never said anything about being a wolf around them." Again, she kicked his sides, more lightly this time. "We're off! To wreak havoc on castle town!"

Through the gates they charged, and the villagers immediately let out a collective scream. Most of the people went fleeing to another part of town. Some bent over and covered their heads with their hands, turning away from the beast. Link growled and spun around, using his tail like a whip. He prowled over towards villagers, snarling in their faces and leaping at them, careful not to actually harm them. He pawed at them and made terrible noises, running around the city like a mad dog.

Midna laughed her head off, occasionally giving Link directions like, "Go scare that man," or "Try that street over there."

Suddenly, Link stopped in the middle of the street and perked his ears up, looking around suspiciously. "That's odd," he said.

"What's the matter?" Midna asked.

"I hear something, like the footsteps of marching soldiers."

Midna waved away the idea. "I don't hear anything," she said.

"But I'm a wolf. I can hear better than you." They waited a minute, and after a while, the noise grew louder until finally, Midna could hear it too. The group of soldiers, or whatever else it could be, was coming closer. Link turned to run and hide behind a few large barrels of apples, but it was too late. The soldiers were already there.

The Hyrulian guards circled the wolf, their hands shaking as they held out their long spears. Link drew back, afraid they would really hurt him, then had an idea. He did a spin attack, and the soldiers all went fleeing! Some ran out the nearest gate, while others sought the safety of another street or dark alley. A few ran into walls and buildings in their attempt to escape the monster.

Link singled out one fat one that was trapped in a corner, and ran over to him. He snarled and pretended to tear at the man, biting the air and lashing out with his paws. In the frenzy, his tail whipped the man, sending a few Rupees flying out of the soldier's pocket. The cowardly man ran off, leaving his money behind.

Link picked them up. He felt bad about it, but the soldier had been too stupid and afraid to even care. Besides, he could use a few extra Rupees these days. "Whew," he panted, "I'm tired. Let's go before more soldiers show up."

"Oh, all right," Midna agreed. "I'm getting pretty tired myself," she added with a yawn.

"You? What have you done?" Link laughed. He stretched and shook his mane, and they left Castle Town. When they were back in Hyrule field, they lied down on the grass and looked up at the sky, Link still a wolf. _Things are finally feeling normal again, _he thought. Midna was thinking the exact same thing.


	2. Chapter 2: Why Midna Really Came

Midna was back and things were feeling normal again. What could be better? Link had transformed back into a human, and he and Midna spent the rest of the day together, visiting of all their old favorite places to go. "So, what next?" Midna asked.

"I dunno. Want to go to the fishing hole?"

"Hena's?" Midna asked, sounding slightly whiny.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Midna didn't answer. "You jealous?" Link asked.

She said, "No, of course not." She thought, _Yes, I'm insanely jealous. I remember when I was your shadow during your little quest to save the world from Ganondorf. Every time you visited the fishing hole, I had to sit there and listen to you two talking, and I couldn't do a thing about it._

"It's okay, we can visit Zelda instead. I haven't seen her in months and you haven't either. I bet she misses you."

"Okay," Midna agreed. _Now that I know they're not together, I do miss Princess Zelda._

They teleported to Hyrule Field and entered Castle Town. As they walked down the streets, they had to push their way through the crowd of people that flocked around Link. Finally they came to the huge wooden door that led to Hyrule Castle. The two guards that stood there opened the door and kneeled in front of Link, lying their spears on the ground.

"I thought you said you weren't anything special now," Midna said.

Link shrugged. "Not in Ordon. I don't come to Castle Town very often."

Hyrule Castle looked much better than when Link had last seen it. When he'd last visited Zelda, people were still doing repairs on the damage that Ganondorf and his minions had done. Now you could never tell a huge battle had taken place here.

They found their way to the throne room, where Zelda sat on her throne. The two guards that were on either side of her swiftly crossed their spears in front of her, ready to fight off the intruders. "Lighten up," she told the guards, waving their spears away. "This is Link and Midna."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," one of the guards said. They both kneeled before Link and Midna. "Please forgive our insolence!" the other one begged.

Zelda laughed. "New guys," she told Link and Midna. She turned to the guards. "Get off the floor," she told them. "You're dismissed."

The two guards slowly left the room. "They've heard all about you," Zelda told Link. "Everyone has." She turned to Midna. "It's good to see you again. How have you returned, though?"

Midna sighed with great exaggeration. "Again, no one remembers how much power I have! I can fix a stupid mirror portal if I want to, people!"

Zelda smiled. "It's so good to see you again," she repeated. She stood from her throne and gave Midna a hug.

"You too," Midna said. "I always remember how you saved my life."

"And you gave up a lot to save mine and my kingdom."

"No big deal."

"How have things been in Ordon, Link?" Zelda asked.

"Fine," he said. It didn't mention how dreadfully boring it was.

"And in Twilight?" she asked Midna.

"It's fi…" she was about to say 'it's fine' but her voice trailed off. Instead, she took a deep breath and said, "It's awful!"

"What's wrong?" Zelda and Link both asked.

_What isn't wrong?_ "I've been arranged to marry a Twilight prince, another guy's trying to take over the kingdom like Zant, there've been assassination attempts on me, I've been turned into imp form all over again…"

"Wait, I thought you did that so you could hide as my shadow," Link interrupted the long list of what had gone wrong in Twilight.

"I lied," Midna said.

"Why would you lie about that? I don't see any reason…"

"I didn't want you to know what I'd done, okay?"

"What have you done?" Zelda asked.

Midna sighed deeply and said quietly and slowly, "I've released a monster into your world."

"What?" Zelda and Link screamed at the same time.

"Yeah," Midna said. "A long time ago in Twilight, there was a Twili who was hungry for power. He somehow merged himself with a Shadow Beast, creating a monster like no one's ever seen before. I accidentally released him from his prison."

"Accidents happen," Link said. _Yes! More evil to rid the world of!_

"You don't understand," Midna said. "I accidentally released him from his prison. But I _purposely _sent him to your world."

"Why would you do that?" Zelda asked, feeling betrayed.

"I didn't want him in the Twilight Realm. I thought I'd send him here for you guys to deal with. But now I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you what I'd done, and help you get rid of the monster."

"You…" Link growled. "You said you fixed the portal to see me! You really fixed it so you could get rid of your problems, so you could send a monster to Hyrule!"

"It's not like that! I wanted to see you, I just also-"

Link transformed into his wolf form and snarled at Midna, ready to pounce.

"Stop!" Zelda ordered. Link continued to growl. "Stop!" she said more sharply. "As the leader of this kingdom I command you to stop!"

Link stopped growled and whined, ears back.

"Good," Zelda said, glaring at the wolf. "Midna's made a terrible mistake and she will pay for it later," Zelda began, turning her glare towards Midna, who shrank back in fear and regret. "But," Zelda continued, "for now we need to keep our heads straight. We need to work together to get rid of this monster. Then we can deal with the other problems in the Twilight Realm."

Link transformed back into human. "Did you say you were arranged to be married?" he asked Midna.

Midna nodded. "Unfortunately, our law says that the Twilight Princess must marry a Twilight Prince. I would remain the main leader of the Realm, but he would rule jointly with me, as second-in-command. Problem is, I don't want to marry the Twilight Prince, and I don't want any help ruling the kingdom!"

"Calm down," Link said. "As soon as we take care of the monster, we'll take care of this situation too." _There's no way I'm going to let Midna marry anyone against her will. I love her too much for that._

"Okay," Zelda said. "So what's the first step."

"I need Zelda to help me call a Light Spirit so I can get my true form back. Then, we'll try to find the monster."

"Wouldn't he go wherever he could find the most power?" Link suggested.

"I don't know," Midna said. "When he was a Twili, yes, he would have. But now that he's fused with a Shadow Beast, he may not have that kind of reasoning. I don't know much about the story."

Together, Midna, Link and Zelda left the castle and teleported to Ordon Spring.


	3. Chapter 3: The Shadow Beast

At the spring, Zelda used her power to call on the Light Spirit of Ordon. As she closed her eyes and concentrated, a great ball of light began to appear and grow, until it filled the area, blinding Link, Zelda and Midna. After a moment, the light died down enough for them to see, but the brightness was still almost overwhelming. Floating in the air was a huge, white and gold creature, with a swooping tail and huge horns that held a ball of light. It was the leader of the four light spirits, Ordona.

"Princess Zelda," it said. "You have called. How may I assist you three heroes?"

"Midna has returned from the Twilight Realm. There has been trouble there."

"I am sorry. I am a protector of Hyrule only. My light cannot save the Twilight Realm."

"She only wishes that you would restore her true form and full power."

Ordona bowed its head and the light held between its horns grew. There was a flash of bright, white light. When the light cleared, Ordona was gone and Midna had returned to her true form. Link was stunned by her beauty all over again. He stood there, mouth open, looking at her.

Midna just laughed. "You never get over it, do you?"

Link shut his mouth blushed. "Let's go," he said. "How are you supposed to track down a half-Twili, half-Shadow Beast monster anyway?"

"I told you," Midna said. "I don't really know much about the back story. I was just inspecting the Twilight Palace one day, making sure everything was okay after Zant's invasion. I went a little further into the palace than I'd ever been before, and happened to open a room I shouldn't have. The monster was sleeping, floating in a tank of bright green water with its limbs chained up. I started to back away, so I could go find help, but the second my foot hit the floor, the creature opened its eyes. Everything went so quickly after that. There was shattered glass, and the creature broke through its chains. I was knocked out of the way, and the beast left the room so quickly it was only a black blur.

I had hit my head hard on the floor, and I was cut by the glass. I got up and ran out of the room, closing the door behind me. That's when I ran into this guy, Nacht. He was one of the lesser rulers of Twili. He asked me where I had just been, and why I was injured. I told him I had just broken something and cut myself. I didn't tell him where I'd been, and I don't think he knew about the beast.

That's when he hit me with a blast of energy from his hand. It transformed me into my other form, and took my power. I don't know how he had the power to do something like that. He must have gotten it from somewhere very strong. When Zant overthrew me, he had gotten his power from Ganondorf. I don't know of any evil power as strong as Ganondorf."

"You don't think…?" Link began.

"No," Zelda said, "Ganondorf is gone. We killed him, and he usually stays dead for a few hundred years or so before coming back again." She didn't feel as sure about it as she sounded.

"I hope so," Link said. He wanted another adventure, but he didn't want Ganondorf back. "We'll deal with this Nacht guy after we find the beast. So what happened after the beast escaped and you were turned into your imp form?"

"Nacht pushed me out of the way and marched down the corridor. When he was gone, I ran to find the monster. I had to protect my kingdom from it, even if my powers had been weakened by Nacht. I found it and lured it to the portal. It wasn't but a few seconds later I realized my mistake and came to your world. I healed in the Ordon Spring, and Link luckily showed up about five seconds later. I made up everything about hiding in your shadow to see how you were doing."

"Wait…" Link asked. "If Nacht took your powers, how did you fix the portal to our world?"

"Because, I had already fixed it," Midna said. "I was planning on coming and seeing you." _Why do you find it so hard to believe I care for you?_

"Oh," Link said. _I shouldn't have doubted her. She wasn't just lying; she really did miss me._

"Alright," Midna said. "Now that story time's over, let's find that monster. So you'll know when you find it, it was about twice your height, Link, with the body of a Twili and the arms of a Shadow Beast. It has a distorted-looking Twili head at the top, and a Shadow Beast head coming from the stomach."

"Sounds disgusting," Zelda said. "It shouldn't be too hard to miss."

"Since it's a Twilit creature, I may be able to sense its presence," Midna said. She closed her eyes and relaxed her muscles. _Come on, Twilight. Show me where you are._ It was strange. She could usually feel where Twilight matter or a Twilight being was, but it just wasn't coming to her this time. Suddenly, she felt the presence very strongly, and she snapped her eyes open to see the creature standing right in front of her. She jumped out of the way just as it reached out for her with its huge hands.

Link transformed into a wolf, Zelda's hands began to glow with light power, and Midna unclasped her hair and let it flow loose, creating the shape of a blazing orange hand that came from her head. Midna thought, _The monster must have been somewhere else and sensed me calling, then teleported itself here. Maybe we can take it out right here, right now._

She used her hair to create a force field, trapping the creature inside with wolf Link, who ran and jumped at the monster, biting at him. Zelda stood outside of the force field and shot balls of light energy at the Twilight monster, weakening his power.

This had been going on for a while when Midna thought, _Yes! I think we're really going to win this! I didn't think it would be so easy!_

Link sunk his teeth into one of the monster's arms one more time. Then, the creature began to break into tiny black squares and rise into the sky until he was gone.

Link transformed back into a human, Midna let down the force field, and Zelda stopped her powers. "Wow!" Link said. "Looks like we can check that one off the list."

Midna shook her head in disbelief.

"What's wrong?" Zelda asked. "I thought you'd be happy we killed the monster."

"No," Midna said. "We didn't kill it." She bent down and examined a drop of neon blue Twilight blood on the ground. "Link wounded it, but it just teleported so it could heal itself somewhere and come back more powerful than before. In other words, the situation is worse than I thought it was."

They all stared at each other in stunned silence.


	4. Chapter 4: Snowpeak and The Twili Prince

_Dear Ilia,_

_I may be gone for a few days… or months. Midna's back. She's released a monster into Hyrule and I'm out fighting it with her and Princess Zelda. Don't worry about me._

_Link_

Ilia ripped off the letter that was tacked to the door of her house, read it quickly, then crumpled it up and stuffed it in her pocket. She swung the door open and stormed over to her bed.

_Stupid Link! We were best friends until he goes off to save the world. Then he meets Midna and suddenly I'm not good enough anymore. He's got to have a weird princess from another world. He's been depressed for like a year, and he hardly talks to me anymore, and now he's telling me not to worry! As if I would worry about him…_

Ilia breathed out slowly. _I'm worrying about him,_ she realized. _But that doesn't mean I'm not still mad. If that monster doesn't kill him, I will._

…

…

Meanwhile, Link was oblivious to Ilia's feelings. He and Midna were side-by-side, searching for a half-twili, half-shadow-beast monster in a frozen wasteland called Snowpeak. Not very romantic, but he was just glad to be with her after a year. It was just like the good old days, fighting monsters and saving the world together.

"You're daydreaming again," Midna said.

Link barked. _So? I've missed you…_

"Why do you always insist on being in wolf form?" she asked, patting his head.

He whined in response. _Because I can run faster in the snow!_

Midna didn't understand a word of his wolf-speak. "Stop daydreaming and let's go. I can feel the twilight. We're getting nearer, but we have to hurry. If we wait too long, the time of day called twilight will be here, and I won't be able to tell it apart from the twilight of the monster."

Link galloped through the snow and shook the frost off his mane. Being with Midna was one thing that felt right again. Another was being a wolf. He'd forgotten he could do that. He howled and ran as fast as he could, kicking up a spray of powdery snow.

Midna covered her face as the snow flew. "Stop it," she laughed. She made a snowball and threw it at him. Link fell over into the snow, then stood up and shook the snow off of his fur. Midna was about to make another snowball, then stopped. "I almost forgot what we were here for. Let's keep going."

Link transformed into a human and asked, "Wait. Where's Zelda?"

"I don't know," Midna said.

They waited until they could see a blur of pink through the swirling snow. "You would have left the princess of Hyrule abandoned in a blizzard?" Zelda called angrily. "It's hard trudging through three feet of snow in a floor-length dress."

"Sorry," Link said. "Come on!" He transformed back into a wolf and ran ahead, Midna and Zelda following him.

After a while, Midna said, "Stop. I can feel the twilight."

"So, are we going to try the same method we did last time?" Zelda asked.

"No," Midna said. "If it didn't work last time, it's not going to work this time. I think we're going to need some strong light power. Zelda, can you use the light arrows again, like when you fought Ganondorf?"

"I- I'm sorry, no. I can only use those with permission of the light spirits."

"Then call on the light spirits!"

"I can only do that when we're at a spirit spring. We'll have to try something else while we're here."

"Great!" Midna growled.

"What?"

"Twilight is coming," she said. "I mean the time of day. I can't sense the shadow beast because the twilight is interfering. The monster could be anywhere now."

Darkness was falling fast and the twilight cast an eerie mix of light and shadow over the land. Link whined and rested his head on his paws, staring into the darkness. They all stood there in silence for a while, as night approached and snow fell.

It was almost completely dark now. Midna knew this was both a good and a bad thing. _Now that twilight is over, I can sense the shadow beast. But it may be too late. It could be long gone, or worse… right behind us._

They waited in awkward silence, and Midna tried to reach out and feel the twilight again. She was first relieved when she felt its presence, then afraid. It was a moonless night, too dark to see. The starlight that reflected on the snow was not bright enough. "Get ready to attack," Midna told the others. "I know we can't see it, so just attack in a circle and hope we hit it. Got it, Link?"

Link barked in response.

"Zelda?"

Everything was silent, then there was a high-pitched shriek.

"Zelda!" Midna screamed. _This is all my fault! I should never have brought that monster here! I should never had made Zelda and Link help me fight it!_ She tried to create a force field with her hair, but she knew it was too late. It was too dark to see, and the beast was out of range.

There was a snarl, then a thud and a whimper. Midna saw a flash of tiny, bright blue squares in the sky, then nothing but darkness and a faint glow of stars on frosted ground. _It's teleported, and taken Zelda with it!_

"Link!" she called.

She heard a whimper and ran towards it, stumbling in the snow. She fell, feeling cold and helpless. That wasn't all she felt. Rough fur brushed against her arm. _Link! _She brushed away the snow and saw him there, lying completely still except his fur blowing in the wind. Midna felt her heart drop until she saw him breathing. _Just unconscious! _She shook him until he opened his eyes, stood up, and transformed into a human.

"I couldn't stop the shadow beast. It took her," he said.

"I know. It's not your fault. We need power stronger than what we've got. Now let's go find Zelda."

"It _teleported_. We can't track it!"

"I know, but we've got to do something. We followed it here, right? We'll just teleport to different sites around Hyrule and I'll try to track him by feeling the Twilight. Now let's go."

Midna created a portal and she and Link were off to their first destination.

…

…

The sun rose over Hyrule Field as Link collapsed onto the ground. "I can't go any further!"

"Don't overreact," Midna told him.

"I'm not. We've been all over Hyrule in one night, some places _twice_. Can't we rest and continue the search later?"

Midna was about to protest, then about to agree, but then she said, "Shhhh! Get over here!" and pulled him to the ground. Together, they crouched in the tall grass.

"What are we hiding from?"

"Nothing," Midna said. "Just… someone I know."

"Who?"

Midna looked embarrassed. "My future husband, if we don't think of something to stop the marriage."

"I'll take care of that as soon as we defeat the Shadow Beast and the guy who's trying to overthrow you." He looked at her and said sarcastically, "Wow, you don't need much, do you?"

"You don't _have_ to help me!" she said.

"Calm down, I was just joking."

"That's him over there." Midna pointed at a young Twili man that was standing in the field, looking around.

He was tall, with a handsome face. He had pale skin and orange hair and eyes, and wore a black tunic and pants with bright blue Twilit designs. There was a silver circlet with a red gem on his head, and he had a flowing black cape with silver designs.

Link looked from Midna to the Twili Prince and back again. "Are you sure he's not…?"

"I know what you're going to say. We are not related! Twili just look similar."

"Then why do you look so different from the Twili I saw?"

"Because we are of a different bloodline. The Prince and I are of the royal bloodline, but we are not closely related. You could say we are of the same race, the royal race. That's why we look more like you Hylians and humans. Now keep quiet. I don't want him to notice us. He might not like you."

"Why?"

"He's just jealous. I told him a little about you."

"What did you tell him?"

"Just about our adventure, that's all." She turned her head away, so Link wouldn't see her blushing. _And I might have said something about loving you with all my heart and never marrying him because of that._

Midna looked up and saw the prince coming over to them. Twili may be pale usually, but when she saw him her face turned even whiter than usual. _Oh, great. Now he's going to try and get me to come back to the Twilight Kingdom, where I'll be the target of assassination, have to confess to releasing the monster, and marry him if I survive everything else._

"H- hi," she said, lifting her hand and waving slightly, still crouching in the grass.

"Midna! Where have you been? The guards have been looking all over for you, my princess." He grabbed her hand in his.

She jerked her hand away and gave him a look. _Don't call me that!_ "I was just taking a trip to visit my friends in Hyrule."

The Prince noticed Link for the first time. "Oh. And you are…?"

"This is Link," Midna said. "Link, meet Duskin."

"Pleased to meet you," Link said, not meaning it but trying to sound polite. He held out his hand for a handshake.

Prince Duskin simply looked down at him. "What are you two doing, crouching in the grass, anyways?"

"Ummm… well, I'm helping him find golden bugs!" Midna lied.

Duskin was silent for a moment, then said, "Humans do the strangest things for entertainment." He turned to Midna. "I don't know what you see in him."

Link was about to stand up and protest that he was a _Hylian,_ not a _human_, and that it didn't matter what Duskin saw in him because Midna saw much more in Link than she did in the prince. Instead, he didn't say anything, because Midna put her hand on his shoulder in warning.

There were a few seconds of awkward silence, until Twili Prince grabbed Midna's wrist and helped her off of the ground. "I guess it's time we head back to the Twilight Kingdom."

Midna jerked away. "No! I'm staying here."

"But- everyone's worried about you!"

_Not everyone,_ Midna thought. _Nacht's surely enjoying ruling the kingdom in my stead._ "Just… tell them I'm okay, alright? I'll be back soon. And keep an eye out for Nacht, will you?"

Duskin hesitated, and then sighed. "Okay," he said. "Come back soon." With that, he teleported away.

Once the prince was gone, Link asked, "If you don't like the guy, why did we have to try so hard to be polite?"

"Link, he's a nice guy-"

Link interrupted with a disbelieving snort.

"He is!" Midna said. "He's just not sure of humans, or Hylians for that matter, and he's a little jealous. But just because I don't want to marry him doesn't mean I want him as my enemy. I've got enough of those already."

"So… we've got to find Zelda now, don't we?"

"Yep. Let's go. How about we try Gerudo Mesa once more?"

"Again?" Link groaned.


	5. Chapter 5: The Theft of the Light Weapon

Midna and Link had been searching all over Hyrule for a couple of days now, but they were both beginning to lose hope. Night had come again, and they were resting by the river. As Midna slept, wolf Link lie there with his head on his paws and kept watch. He let out a sigh and looked towards Hyrule castle, which could be seen in the distance. A cool breeze blew through his fur and he began to close his eyes, then jolted wide awake again. _I have to watch for the shadow beast, _he reminded himself.

He looked toward Midna and watched her sleeping, breathing. She looked so peaceful now, but she had so many problems to face when she awoke. Evil monsters, people trying to overthrow her rule, forced marriage… Link wished he could take it all away for her right then and there. But it wasn't that easy. The time came for Midna to take watch, and Link to rest. Link let her sleep, anyway. _It's the least I can do to help her._

Finally, morning came, and Midna's eyes flickered open. Link yawned, then barked. _Good morning._

Midna was silent for a moment. "You took my shift, didn't you?"

Link stretched and yawned again. It wasn't supposed to mean,_ No big deal,_ but Midna took it to mean, _Yes, and I'm exhausted from not getting any sleep._ "Well, you shouldn't have," she said. "But thank you." She reached down and scratched behind his ear.

Without thinking, he licked her cheek.

"That… is so weird, Link," Midna said. "I never really thought about it before, but I guess you get the personality of a wolf when you transform, too, not just the fur and paws."

_I still love you just as much,_ he barked. He thought, _Ha! I'm only brave enough to say such a thing when she can't understand me._

"Last night, I dreamed you and I were in the forest. The one where the entrance to the Temple of Time is hidden. It made me think: even if we find Zelda, there's no way we could rescue her from the shadow beast with what we've got. But I think I know what _can_ help us defeat the shadow beast."

Link cocked his head to one side. _Where is she going with this?_

"We've got to steal the Master Sword."

It surprised Link so much, he transformed into a human again and said, "What? The spirits made me return it after I defeated Ganondorf. The thing was hard enough to get with the spirits' favor, but it'll be impossible for us to just flat-out _steal_ it!"

"No, it won't be impossible. It can't be. It's our only hope. Besides, if we need it to save Hyrule, won't the spirits be on our side."

"It's not so simple. The Master Sword is for saving Hyrule from Ganondorf, and _only_ Ganondorf, I think."

Midna shrugged and stood up. "Oh, well. It can't be helped. We've got to steal the Master Sword. You coming?"

"Of course."

:::

"What happened to 'I know my way through this dungeon,' Link?"

"Hey, it _is_ the first dungeon I went through. You can't expect me to remember every twist and turn."

"I can, and I did. Silly me." Midna rolled her eyes. "Now we're lost. How are we going to get out of here?"

"Forget about getting out of here, we have to find the Temple of Time. This is weird. I can't seem to remember much about this place."

Midna and Link had been wandering through the forest for about an hour. Every time they thought they were getting close, they'd wind up right back where they'd just come from. Occasionally they heard laughter, both childish and frightening, but they could never tell where it came from, and the sound was always faint.

Link and Midna sighed at the same time and sank down onto a log. Fighting the shadow beast and searching all of Hyrule for Zelda had left them exhausted, and wandering through the woods for over an hour hadn't helped. They hadn't rested long when Link said, "Hey do you hear that?"

"Yeah. It's sounds like rattling wood."

They sat there and listened for a few seconds, before a wooden puppet suddenly dropped from the trees above, suspended by wires. Link and Midna jumped up in surprise, and Link drew his sword. The puppet slammed into him, knocking him to the ground, then returned to the ceiling. Link stood up, bruised and sore after only one hit. A moment later, it returned… with friends. Now there were about ten of the human-sized wooden puppets. Link performed a spin attack, sending the puppets flying, but they were back a moment later, with barely a scratch on their wooden bodies.

"It's no use," Midna said. "They're inanimate objects, so you can't kill them."

"What would you suggest?"

"Run."

Link and Midna ran as fast as they could, but soon they were cornered. Puppets in front of them and to their sides, and behind them was a huge tree trunk and a pond. "Jump in the pond," Link said, eyes still on the puppets.

"Are you crazy? That's not going to help. Even if it stops the puppets, we can't stay underwater forever." Midna turned towards Link. "Are you even listen- what the heck are you doing?"

As the puppets came closer, Link was pulling his Zora armor on over his clothes.

"Link! We don't have time for this! Even if your stupid Zora armor lets you breathe underwater, that won't do me any good!"

Link had the armor on by this time, though. He quickly grabbed Midna's hand and jumped into the pond, dragging her under with him. Together, they sunk under water as bubbles rose around them. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, and they could see the creepy faces of the puppets staring down at them, floating on the water's surface.

"What are we going to do now?" Midna said, then quickly closed her mouth. _That came out surprisingly clear for us being underwater._

"I don't know. Let me think about it," Link responded, still holding her hand. They were sitting at the bottom of the pond now.

Midna held her breath, feeling like her lungs were going to burst. _I can't take this much longer!_

"Breathe," Link said.

Midna shook her head frantically. _Are you crazy?_ But she couldn't stand it much longer. She had to do something, so she let the rest of her breath out. And breathed in. Just as if she were breathing air. Her hand was still touching Link's. "It- it must be the Zora armor," she said. "I didn't know it could do that."

"Neither did I," Link said. "but we had to try something, didn't we?"

They heard laughter coming from somewhere out of the water. They hadn't heard it for a while, but it was back now. They both wondered what it could be.

"Look." Link pointed up towards the surface.

Midna couldn't see well through the water, but there seemed to be a strange, impish creature standing on the shore and peering into the pond. It laughed and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"I remember this," Link said, letting go of Midna's hand in surprise. Midna began to splutter and clasp her throat. "Oh, sorry," Link said, holding her hand again. "I was just saying: I remember this. That creature controls the puppets. If I could fight it instead of its puppets, then we'd win."

"So what are we going to do, exactly?"

"On the count of three, swim to the surface. I'll do a spin attack, we'll run for our lives, and I'll try to get a hold of that little imp. One… two… three!"

Midna gripped Link's hand tightly and they kicked to the surface. They burst out of the water, sending a couple of puppets flying, and Link performed a spin attack with his sword, sending the rest. They ran out of the pond and quickly let their eyes dart around the room, searching for the puppet master. Link finally spotted him, perched on a tree limb and laughing. Link pulled out his bow and let an arrow fly, hitting the creature. It flinched, then blew a horn. It vanished, and the puppets returned to the ceiling.

Midna sighed. "Well, that was strange. What's with you suddenly forgetting everything about this dungeon? We're just lucky you remembered how to beat the puppets at the last second."

Link shook his head. "I don't know. But… I think the puppets beat some sense into me."

"What do you mean?"

"I suddenly remember which way we need to go."

:::

"There it is: the Master Sword." Link walked slowly over to the place where the great sword jutted out of its stone resting place.

Midna stayed where she was, afraid even to breathe in such a sacred place. Link had wielded the weapon before, but that had been different. He'd had the spirits' approval then.

Link reached out his hand, hesitated, then pulled his hand back. He held his breath and closed his eyes, then grabbed for the sword as quickly as he could. It pulled free of the stone easily, and Link was soon holding it, wincing as he waited for something to strike him dead. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the glimmering sword. _Nothing killed me. That's always a good sign._

Midna smiled. _He did it._

The peace didn't last long. As Link walked back over to Midna, the ground began to shake. "Run!" he shouted. Together they ran, Link clutching the Master Sword as tightly as he could. _I should've known it couldn't have been that easy!_ There was a deep rumbling in the earth, and the ground all around them seemed to collapse. When the rumbling stopped, they were left on a small island of land, with a deep pit all around them. Link looked over the edge and watched as a pebble fell over the side. It soon disappeared into darkness, and he never heard it hit the bottom. "Great," he muttered, then turned to Midna. "We have to jump across the ditch if we want to make it out of the forest alive."

"It's too wide! There's no way we'd ever make it, and I can't even see the bottom! We'll be killed."

"Thanks for being so optimistic," Link said. He grabbed her hand, and ran forward, jumping when he reached the edge. Midna screamed as they leaped across the abyss. Link fell onto the ground on the other side with a painful thud, but he still had a hold of Midna's hand, which was a good thing, because she had only half-landed on the other side. Her legs were still dangling into the abyss. Link helped pull her up to safety, but they weren't to be safe for too long.

The earth stopped trembling and everything was quiet… too quiet. There was a bright flash of white light, and suddenly there were three creatures before them, floating in the air: the light spirits. All three were huge, and a blinding white-and-gold. The spirit of the Ordon Spring was in front, shining brightly and looking down angrily at Link and Midna. "You have disappointe us greatly, hero," it said, glaring at Link. "We never thought that the Hero of Time himself would turn on us."

"But I'm not turning on you! I have to have the sword-"

"Silence," the spirit interuppted. Its voice was firm, but it sounded more grieved than angry. "I am sorry to have to do this, but we can not allow a traitor and a thief to live, even if he is the Hero of Time himself. Forgive me, Link." The ball of light held by the spirit's horn grew until its brightness washed out everything else. Link knew this was the end.

The light stung his eyes, even when he closed them. That's how strong it was. He could feel the heat against his skin, and could hear Midna screaming, "Noooo!" Her voice sounded distant and faint, even though she was right beside him. Everything was washed away in the white light. He could see nothing.

Suddenly, Midna's yelped and the brightness died down. Link opened his eyes and saw her, lying on the ground with her eyes closed. _She jumped in front to save me! She's a Twilight creature, so light hurts her more!_ He ran to her side. She wasn't breathing as far as he could tell. He turned to the light spirits and drew the Master Sword.

"That will do you no good, hero," the spirit of Ordon said. "We are spirits of light. And that is a weapon of light. Your best bet is to surrender now."

Link felt the anger grow inside him. "You only care about the Light World, don't you?" he yelled. "Nothing matters to you except what you were sworn to protect! Midna could be dead and you don't care because she's from the Twilight Kingdom! Well guess what: I've talked to Twili, I _am_ of Twilight when I'm a wolf, and they have feelings just like the people of this world. And guess what else? I stole the Master Sword to save your Light World, so you have no reason to call me traitor." With that, he sheathed the Master Sword, scooped Midna into his arms and ran as fast as he could without looking back. As he ran, he kissed her. _I may never have the chance to tell her I love her,_ he realized. _It may already be too late._


	6. Chapter 6: Showdown in the Desert

Link stumbled as his face was buffeted by sand that stung his eyes. His knees buckled, and Midna rolled out of his arms into the soft sand. He collapsed, eyes closed. Everything felt like a blur, yet the details were crisp. Like a dream. Or a nightmare. He felt heat, beating down from the sun, risng up from the ground, soaking into him. It seemed like he could feel every grain of sand that hit his skin. His muscles ached, his head was killing him and he saw pulsing red spots when he opened his eyes.

He'd run all that way. He didn't know how, or why. He'd sort of blanked out, moved without thought. It all felt like it was happening to someone else. All that mattered was that Midna was hurt. So why take her to Gerudo Mesa? Even he didn't know. He closed his eyes again, and blacked out.

:::

Link awoke. It was late in the afternoon, almost evening. The sun would be setting soon. Link could feel that he was a wolf. The Master Sword lie on the ground nearby. He stood and shook the sand from his thick fur. _Oh, my head._ He winced from the pain. _Midna!_ He remembered what had happened and ran to her side. She was still lying in the sand, but she looked worse now. Paler than before, even. Link licked her face, hoping to revive her, but it was no use. She was completely out, and her heartbeat and breathing were very faint. _Zelda could heal her!_ He thought. _But there are two problems with that: it would probably kill Zelda, and I don't even know where Zelda is._

_Maybe I could do like Midna and track the Twilight. I'm not as powerful as her, so I don't know if it'll work, but it's worth a try…_ He turned on his wolf senses and looked around, sniffing the air. Then he realized that his wolf senses only helped him see spirits and buried items. Not twilight. _This is something completely different,_ he realized. _As a wolf, I am a Twilight creature. I should focus on that._ He closed his eyes and tried to focus only on the Twilight in himself, but he felt nothing extraordinary. The sand still hitting him, the sun still beating down, a warm desert wind. He knew it was not working.

He opened his eyes and looked at Midna again. _I've got to do this for her._ He closed his eyes once more. _Just focus! Feel the twilight._ And he felt it. Or, he thought he did. He'd never _felt_ twilight before. He'd seen it, fought it, been in it… he'd been a creature of the Twilight, even. But he wouldn't know what it _felt_ like. Still, something told him he'd found the trail. He wagged his tail at first, filled with excitement, then stopped. _What if it's not really the Shadow Beast? Midna said that the time of day called Twilight could interrupt your sense of Twilight matter or beings._ He opened his eyes. The sun was not yet setting. He wagged his tail even faster, feeling the excitement grow. He forced himself to focus once more. The source of twilight was growing nearer.

Eyes closed, he stalked forward. Pure wolf instinct filled his mind. He had to hunt down the Shadow Beast, that was all he knew. He continued stalking, and when he stopped and opened his eyes again, he saw it: the Shadow Beast was on the horizon of the desert vista, just a black dot against the endless sand and sky. He charged.

:::

Link awoke. Again. Only, he hadn't remembered falling asleep or going unconcious this time. He looked around to find that he was still at Gerudo Mesa and that it was now night. He was also still a wolf. Zelda, Prince Duskin, Ilia and Midna stood a little ways away, talking, and… _Midna!_ Link yelped, not meaning to. The others turned to face him.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Midna cried, running over to him. She hugged him close. "I was so worried about you."

Link transformed into a human, still in her arms. "What happened?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Midna admitted. "Maybe you can explain how we got to the desert and we'll try to piece it together from there."

"Okay… All I know is that the Light Spirits hurt you, so I ran. I didn't know where I was going… but I guess it was the right place to go."

"I guess so," Zelda said. "The Shadow Beast was taking me towards Arbiter's Grounds, when I saw you running over. You looked… almost crazy. Pure wolf. The shadow beast dropped me, then attacked you. You blacked out, and I thought you were dead at first, so I screamed. I knew it was no use, but I ran over and began beating it with my fists. I guess I was just angry about it almost killing you."

Link pictured the princess fighting the monster with her bare hands, in his defense. It was something he'd never thought would have happened.

"It threw me aside easily, of course," Zelda continued. "Then, this fellow and your friend Ilia show up. They weren't together, but they seemed to both show up at just the right time. I guess they heard my scream and came to help." She gestured towards Ilia. "Ilia here killed the monster."

Link's jaw dropped. _What?_ This had to be some kind of prank or something. How could Ilia have killed the shadow beast?

Ilia crossed her arms. "Don't believe her? I'm capable of more than taking care of horses and chasing after you. Which I'm done with, by the way."

"I- I believe you. But how-?"

Ilia turned and picked up a sword. The Master Sword.

Link couldn't believe it. And yet, he had to believe it. It was what had happened. He felt… cheated. _It was my prey. It was my duty to kill the shadow beast, for Midna. And Ilia took that away from me._ He felt a growl, then supressed it. _I'm not even a wolf right now._

They were all silent for a moment, and Ilia leaned on Prince Duskin, who hadn't said a word since Link woke up. Link tried not to stare, but he was curious. _Why are Ilia and Duskin being so friendly?_

"Stop looking at me like that," Ilia said. "Duskin and I have been talking the past few hours, waiting for you to wake up. We've got a lot in common."

Link held his head, which hurt. _This is all just a weird dream or something, _he tried to convince himself. _Some bad goat cheese or something._ "So… wait. What happened after Ilia killed the monster? Why was Ilia here to begin with, and how did Midna…?"

Ilia hesitated. She didn't want to say the real reason she'd been there… looking for Link because she was worried about him. So, she told half the truth. "I was looking for Link… so I could strangle him the second I got a hold of him."

Link grimaced. He hoped she was kidding, but you could never tell with Ilia. She'd be off with your head just for straining Epona the least bit. _What is she mad about anyway?_

Midna moved closer to Link. Ilia looked uncomfortable and a little angry, then moved closer to Duskin. _This is half happy reunion, half plain awkward,_ Link thought. Zelda was just rolling her eyes at the way everyone else was acting.

Link turned to Midna. "I was so worried about you. I thought you were going to die. What happened?"

"Zelda saved me. Again. I owe her much." She looked down, humbled.

"Last time, it nearly killed you to save her," Link said to Zelda.

"I only gave her half my strength. That is why we are both still weak."

Link noticed for the first time that both Zelda and Midna were exceptionally pale and tired-looking.

"I'd say for you to go to the light spirits' springs for healing," Link said, "but we're not exactly welcome anymore. I stole the Master Sword, and they weren't too happy about it. They tried to kill me, but Midna… saved my life." He realized that for the first time. "Thank you," he said to her.

"Hey, you've saved mine before too, and I'm not keeping score, are you?"

Link hugged her, just glad she was okay.

"Nobody even cares why I'm here," Duskin said, ruining the moment. "I came to tell Princess Midna that Nacht has been enjoying being in charge a little too much, and now he's disappeared."

"What?" Midna screamed, letting go of Link.

"Yeah, he was trying to pass all of these laws. None of them have got by yet, but he sure tried. And now he's gone who-knows-where."

"So who's in control now?"

"I don't know."

"Then you should have stayed behind and took control!"

Duskin frowned, blushing. "Oops. I thought I should come tell you, but I guess I could have got a servant to do that."

Midna closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "This is just great. Who knows what he's up to?"

"I do," a voice said, deep and cruel-sounding. "Let me fill you in. For one thing, I was the reason your memory failed you at the Forest Temple. Your little Skull Kid friend beat some sense into and broke the spell."

The five turned to see a Twili man walking towards them over the dunes.

"Nacht," Midna murmured.

"Midna," Nacht responded. "Dear, Princess Midna. It is not very smart to just up and leave your kingdom in someone else's hands. I could have done some serious damage."

"I… had things to take care of. And Duskin told me what you've been up to. He also told me that none of your laws were passed."

Nacht looked angry and a little uneasy, then said calmly, "Yet. None of the laws have passed _yet_."

"Well, they aren't going to be. I took care of things here, so now I'm returning. I'll have you fired, by the way, Nacht."

"Fire me? That's the best you can do? You won't even be able to do that, I'm afraid," Nacht said with a smile. Suuddenly, a black fog seemed to come from nowhere. As it touched them, Zelda and Ilia faded and disappeared with a look of terror on their faces.

"No!" Link shouted, reaching out for them.

The second he touched the fog, he transformed into a wolf, and immediately saw flickering, transluscent blue images of Zelda and Ilia. _I've seen this before. When twilight covered Hyrule, everyone became ghosts._ They did not seem to be able to see Link, but they still looked frightened. Link turned and faced Nacht, growling and snarling.

Nacht laughed and held up a small object. "This is too easy. Do you know what this is?" he asked. "It is a shadow crystal. A little bit of this, and you will forever be a wolf." He threw it with a power stronger than that of any ordinary human, Hylian, or Twili, and the crystal lodged itself in Link's shoulder. He yelped and fell to the ground in pain.

"Link!" Midna ran over to him, then whirled around and faced Nacht. "I don't know what you're planning, but you won't get away with it. I'll get back to the Twilight Kingdom before you!"

"Be my guest," Nacht said. "I won't stop you."

Midna hesitated, confused. _Why isn't he trying to stop me?_ But after a minute, she decided to just go with it. She had no other option. She couldn't see the ghosts of Zelda and Ilia like Link could, but she spoke to them anyway. "If you can hear me, I'll be back. I promise." She then picked up Link's limp body and dumped him into Prince Duskin's arms. "Let's go," she said. She and Prince Duskin ran across the desert sands towards Arbiter's Grounds, Link with them.


	7. Chapter 7: Return to Twili

_Link's whimpering. Prince Duskin's breathing. The hissing of sand around them, and her own heartbeat._ It was so quiet, every little sound seemed magnified a thousand times. Midna ran as fast as she could, though it hurt to do so. It hurt her lungs, her legs, her head. She ignored it and kept going, despite her own doubts. _What if Link doesn't make it? What if the Twili Kingdom is worse off than I imagined? What if… what if going back to Twili is exactly what Nacht wants us to do?_ He hadn't stopped them, didn't try to chase after them. But there was no time for regrets. She'd take the what-ifs as they came; it was too late to turn back.

Finally, she saw Arbiter's Grounds in the distance. Her heart leapt, but she wasn't sure if it was fear or joy that made it do so. On one hand, they were closer to getting Link some help and regaining control of Twili. On the other, they could be walking right into Nacht's trap. They came to Arbiter's Grounds and approached the Mirror Portal, shining dark and mysterious as ever.

Duskin set Link down, wiped his brow, and picked the wolf up again. "Here we go," he said.

Midna nodded. A sandy wind blew over the beads of perspiration on her face, cooling her slightly. She hesitated, then outreached her hand and the mirror to the Twilight Kingdom began to activate, swirling black and neon blue. A moment later, they were home. But not quite.

The Twilight was usually beautiful: black and blue and orange. Now it was gray and lifeless, and there were no Twili to be seen anywhere. A sense of dread crept over Midna. She'd half expected to see her kingdom in ruins, crumbling and in flames, with Twili battling Shadow Beasts. But she hadn't been prepared for this. Not this frightening silence, and the gray sky that covered the place. Nothing was wrong, yet everything was.

Midna turned to Prince Duskin. "What's happened here?" Her voice cracked and she fought back tears. She couldn't explain what had her in such a panic, but something was terribly wrong here. She struggled to slow her breathing.

"I- I do not know. It wasn't like this before I left to find you."

"How could Nacht find such power? When Zant took over, he used power from…" She couldn't bring herself to say Ganondorf's name, as if just speaking it would bring him here.

Duskin understood anyway. "I know you don't want to face it, but it may be a possibility. Perhaps Ganondorf has returned and is using Nacht like he did Zant."

Midna didn't say anything for a moment, trying to process everything that was going on. "We will figure it all out eventually," she said. "I hate not knowing enough about the situation. What do we have so far?"

"Thankfully, the Shadow Beast is out of the picture now. That leaves the information that Nacht is trying to take over the Twilight Kingdom, he somehow has found a great source of power, Link is injured and is trapped in wolf form for now, and Zelda and Ilia have become ghosts. Oh, and this entire thing keeps pushing our wedding day back."

Midna cringed upon hearing the word "wedding". But there was so much else that had to be taken care of first. "It's all so vague. Everything we know, all our plans. It is like when we were fighting the Shadow Beast at Snowpeak. Everything was totally dark, but you could feel the creature was near, ready to attack."

Duskin put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, the Shadow Beast's one less thing we are up against. So let's just forget it, okay?"

Midna nodded. "Alright, let's try to find some Twili and see what's happened here."

She and Duskin made their way to the Twilight Palace. It looked the same as before, other than its now minatory and gray appearance. _I hope Link will be able to see it one day, when all of this is over. He's only seen it when it was cursed by Zant._ She turned to look at Link, lying in Duskins arms. She reached over and petted his mane, and he opened his blue eyes slightly before closing them again. _Even if he makes it out of this okay,_ she realized, _we will never be able to talk to each other again. The shadow crystal is deep in his shoulder, and it keeps him in his Twilight form._ She wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed. _Crying won't help a thing._ She took a deep breath and stood up straight, placing her hand on the ornate, blue-etched silver door. It swung inward, and she and Duskin entered.

They walked down the dark corridor, their footsteps echoing on the black floor and walls. Small orbs of hazy light hung from the ceiling, swaying in the draft. Midna slowly ran her hand over the blue-green Twili markings that were carved into the jet walls as she walked.

They searched nearly the entire palace without seeing any Twili. Everything was unsettlingly quiet and still as they stood in the grand dining hall. This room had always been so full of life and joy as Twili talked and feasted. Now it was as dead as the rest of the rooms. Link whimpered, breaking the silence, but for only a moment. Midna glanced over at him. His shoulder was bleeding badly where the crystal had gone in. She strode to the kitchen and found a knife, which she used to cut a strip of cloth from Duskin's cape.

"Hey!" Duskin protested. "Do you know how much that cost?"

Midna ignored him and wrapped the cloth tightly around Link's wound. She sighed, knowing it was not enough. If only Zelda were not a ghost. If only the Light Spirits were still on their side. If only they were back in Hyrule, where they could find a doctor. If only they could find a Twili healer… _If only, if only. Of all the healers in Hyrule and Twilight, we cannot get to a single one._ She lifted Link from the Prince's arms. He was heavy, but not too bad. "Come on," she said. "We have to find somewhere for him to rest."

:::

Midna laid Link on her own bed, kissed his cheek, and closed the black and silver canopy closed. She then turned to Duskin. "He can rest here until we can find a healer. Now what do we do?"

Duskin shrugged. He had no more ideas than she did. They were both silent, avoiding each other's gaze. Suddenly, some papers on a nearby table fluttered as a draft blew through the room. "These weren't here before," Midna said. She walked over and picked up the two papers, which looked like they had been ripped out of a book. She read the Twili writing:

_~ The advisor, Shadon, has been dabbling with the power of our ancestors. I believe it is dangerous and have warned him not to take these things lightly, but he simply shrugs it off and continues what he is doing. He simply ignores me, as if he does not know who I am. It is not good that he no longer respects me. His stupidity and boldness will be the downfall of the kingdom if I do not find a way to stop him._

_~ Shadon is still at it, and I can find no way to stop him. The entire kingdom is in my command and I cannot stop my simple advisor from using magic! I fear I am a failure as the Twilight Princess._

_~ Royal court proceedings are finally over and Shadon has been imprisoned. So why don't I feel relieved?_

_~ Shadon has become a monster. He did not remain in the dungeon for more than one day before escaping. The guards report that he became something un-Twili. Like pure dark power, they described. As though he had no real body, just shadow. They were too afraid to say any more. They just trembled and stared as if whatever Shadon became was still there. The healer says they will never be the same._

Midna was trembling, now, although she wasn't sure why. The next entry on the pages was completely blotted out with a black spot, so she and Duskin skipped it and continued reading.

_~ It has been months since this diary was written in by my elder sister, the late Twilight Princess Eventide. I wanted to write here before, to finish her story, but I could not bring myself to do it until now._

Small holes were burned into the paper. "What's that?" Duskin asked.

"Tears of a Twilight Princess before me," Midna murmured. "Princess Eventide's sister must have been crying as she wrote this." The tears of the Twilight Princess held power, as Midna had shown by shattering the Mirror Portal. They read on.

_I have taken the throne as Twilight Princess, though it brings me no joy. I feel that it is my duty to share my sister's tale now, and so I shall. No one knew what Shadon's goals were. He seemed completely different, like his only purpose was to bring destruction. He transformed the kingdom into an even darker place. All seemed gray to me, though I do not know if it really was his magic, or just my imagination. So many were lost. A few were killed, a few fled to a place called Hyrule… the forbidden Light world. But most were transformed, like Shadon himself was, into monsters. Not creatures of pure power and shadow like him, but monsters all the same. They were… _are_ horrible beasts. Some still roam the kingdom, though not near as many as before. It is hard to think of them when they were Twili like the rest of us. _

More holes dotted the paper.

_But I could speak of this for hours. My sister eventually went into hiding. Things had become too dangerous. She remained safe for almost a year before being found by Shadon. Shadon killed her, but she first lured him into a trap. The three spirits of Twili trapped him in the body of a monster. It was strong body, but it was still a limitation of his powers. He was mortal now, and could no longer terrorize the land in his untouchable darkness state. There was no weapon strong enough to kill the monster, so he was locked away, deep in the heart of the palace. I am not confident this will hold him, but…_

The writing ended, as if it were continued on another page. Midna looked at Duskin. "I think I know what's going on now," she said.

"Really?" Duskin asked, puzzled. "Please fill me in, then, because I don't see where you're going with this. What does this story have to do with everything?"

There was no time to explain. "We're going to the library," Midna said.

:::

Midna and Duskin stood in the doorway of the huge Library of Twilight. The round room's polished black marble floor shone, as did the sleek metal walls. Ebony bookcases filled the room, and a huge orb of purplish light hung from the high, glass dome ceiling. Midna looked up to see the sky, as gray as before.

A voice filled her head. "Can I help you?"

She turned to see the creature that had sent the puppets to attack them in the forest. The Skull Kid.


	8. Chapter 8: The Skull Kid

"_What are you looking for?"_ The Skull Kid spoke, but his creepy grin remained in place. The words were in Midna's head. _"I can help you."_

"What are you doing here? How can you help us?" Midna was suspicious. The last time she'd encountered this strange character, he'd sent giant wooden puppets to attack her and Link. _Although, it did break Nacht's confusion spell._ "And why did you attack me and Link?" she added.

There was a mischievous glint in the creature's eyes. _"We Skull Kids have always had a strange relationship with the Hero of Time. I don't mind helping Link find what he needs, but I like to tease him a little first. Link is usually not so forgetful, so I knew something must be wrong when he acted as though he did not know the forest. That is why I followed you here, to see if I could help in any way."_

"Should we trust him?" Duskin asked Midna. Apparently, he could hear the Skull Kid's voice as well.

"I'm not sure," Midna said. "He doesn't seem like an enemy, just a troublemaker. I think we've got to trust him. We don't have much of a choice."

"If you say so."

Midna nodded at Duskin, then turned back to the Skull Kid. "I just read about Twilight Princess Eventide. Long ago, a Twili named Shadon gained much power and turned the kingdom into something much like it has become now. Shadon was trapped in the body of a monster, and imprisoned deep in the palace. I think I awakened that very monster. It has been killed, but I think that merely released Shadon from the hindrance of having a mortal body."

"_I know this much. I am the one who placed those papers there for you to see, after all."_

"Thank you," Midna said. "When this is all over with, I shall reward you for your help, and punish you for tearing pages out of a royal book."

The Skull Kid bowed. _"I expected no less from a Princess of your greatness."_

"So," Duskin said, "you really think the Shadow Beast and Shadon are one and the same?"

"_I_ know_ they are the same."_ The Skull kid hopped over to a table where he picked up a leather-bound book. The title on the cover was in a language unknown to Midna, neither Hylian nor Twili. He opened the book and flipped to a page marked by a red silk ribbon. There, on the yellowed pages, was a sketch of none other than the Shadow Beast. Extra heads, huge height, hideous appearance. It was definitely it. _"This book is written in the language of the Skull Kid race," _the Skull Kid said. _"You probably wonder why the Skull Kid have a book on creatures of Twilight. We have always found the Twili Kingdom very interesting. Shall I read what the page on the Shadow Beast says?"_

Midna and Duskin nodded, and the Skull Kid began:

"This is a creature with a mysterious history. It is wrote of in Princess Eventide's diary, by Eventide's sister Half-Light, but only briefly. The story goes that a crazed Twili managed to merge himself with a Shadow Beast to gain power, but the half-Twili, half Shadow-Beast creature was killed by a hero. The Spirits of Twilight then used the monster's body to imprison the spirit of Shadon, an evil Twili who had nearly destroyed the kingdom. Legend says that the creature is still alive, trapped somewhere within the Palace of Twilight, but it is unknown if this is true or not."

The Skull Kid closed the book. "The rest is simply about its appearance, great strength, theories about it, etcetera…" He walked over to the table again and picked up another book, this one black leather with silver Twili writing. Historical Figures of the Twili Middle Ages. He opened the book and thumbed through the pages until he came to the one he was looking for. He turned the book to show Midna and Duskin the portrait of a Twili man on the right page. Shadon, it said beneath the picture. Midna thought how similar he looked to Nacht. The Skull Kid began to read about half-way through the page.

"Shadon was tried for direct disobedience to the Twilight Princess, concerning his use of the power of the Twili ancestors. He was found guilty and imprisoned in the palace's dungeon, but remained there no more than a day before his escape. Guards report that he became something made of pure shadow and power before destroying the prison wall and escaping, but it is unsure whether or not these reports are true. The guards were driven crazy with fear, so many believe that their reports are not accurate. Shadon took advantage of the magic he had gained from the Twilis' ancestors and ruled the kingdom for a time, forcing Princess Eventide to go into hiding. Princess Eventide was eventually killed, but in the process, Shadon was trapped in the body of a monster. It is said that the monster remains in the depths of the Twilight Palace to this day. The question has been raised why the creature was not simply destroyed. This has a simple answer: a creature of twilight must be killed with light. It is said the Twilight Spirits still await the light that will allow them to destroy the beast."

"So…" Midna said. "What are we supposed to do, exactly?" Questions ran through her mind. She wanted the know more about the original Twili-Shadow Beast monster and how it came to be, and wondered how they were to defeat a spirit of pure shadow and power.

"Find a way to capture Shadon's spirit, then destroy him with the light."

They were all silent, thinking about the insanity of it all, when there was a sudden howl, long and loud.

"Link!" Midna gasped. "He must be in trouble. Let's go!"

:::

Back in Midna's room, the black canopy of the bed was torn to shreds, a mirror that had once been on the wall was completely shattered, and books and papers lie all over the floor, and in the middle of it all stood Link, growling as he face twenty Shadow Beasts.

So that's where all of the Twili have gone, Midna realized with dread. Shadon has turned them all into Shadow Beasts, as he did all those years ago.

The cloth that had been wrapped around Link's shoulder had fallen off. The wound was still bleeding, although not as badly as before. Still, he didn't need to be straining himself. Midna ran in front of him and used her hair to create a force field around the monsters. "Run," she told Link. Link growled and placed his paws even more firmly on the ground, unwilling to move. "I mean it," Midna said. "You're shoulder's still injured. You're not ready to fight."

Link ignored her and leaped over the force field into the arena, snapping at the monsters. One slammed him hard into the ground. He leaped back to his paws and bit the monster on the arm.

"Link, stop!" Midna yelled. They may have become Shadow Beast, but they were once Twili! Maybe there is a way to change them back…

Link stopped and turned to look at Midna, ears pricked.

"Please, Link. Listen to me. Don't hurt them."

Link left the forcefield.

"On the count of three," Midna said, "we're going to run. One… two… three!"

Midna, Duskin and Link ran out of the room as fast as they could (the Skull Kid remained in the library) and slammed the heavy wooden door behind them. A few Shadow Beast's arms stuck out and kept it from closing completely, grabbing blindly at the trio. Midna quickly pushed the creatures' arms back in the room, wincing at the feel of the monsters' skin and the anticipation of being grabbed by their huge hands. The door clicked as it closed completely, they locked it and pushed a bookshelf from the hallway in front of the door.

Midna sighed and leaned against the wall, her heart beating fast as she heard the Shadow Beasts beating on the door. They wouldn't get out any time soon, though.

"So, what do we know?" Duskin said.

"To sum it up," Midna said, "Shadon was trapped in the body of a monster. Either I or Nacht released the monster from his prison. It doesn't matter who. When we killed the monster, we released his spirit, making him even more powerful. So now we've got an almost immortal spirit who lives to destroy on our hands. Our goals are to defeat him, Nacht, and if possible, find a way to turn the Shadow Beasts back into Twili."

"Right," Duskin said, nodding. "Good luck with that."

"What do you mean good luck with that?" Midna said. "You're in on this now too, whether you like it or not."

"Of course! I was just kidding!" Duskin laughed nervously. I'm a prince, not the monster-fighting type…

Coward, Link thought. Oh well. He's started to grow on me. He did carry me all the way across the desert when I was injured, so he can't be too bad a guy. He grimaced as he felt a sting of pain from his wound where the shadow crystal jutted from his shoulder… and realized for the first time that it meant he would be a wolf forever… and could never be with Midna.


	9. Chapter 9: Forgiveness

"Okay, does anyone have any plans?" Duskin asked.

Link barked something out, but of course no one understood him.

"I don't know," Midna said. "Link seems to want to tell us something, but there's no way we are going to be able to tell what he's saying."

Link whined in frustration and ran down the hallway.

Midna and Duskin looked at each other. "Did you say something that offended him?" Duskin suggested.

"No, I think he's trying to tell us something. Come on." They followed the sound of Link's pawsteps in the corridor until they found him at the entrance to the library.

He jerked his head to show them to follow him, then went inside and began pacing along the bookshelves as though looking for something. Finally he stopped and used his teeth to pull a white leather book with gold twili writing off the shelf.

"_Legends of Light_," Midna whispered.

"What?" Duskin said.

"I used to read that book a lot when I was younger. I always thought the light world to be so interesting."

Link opened the book and flipped through the pages with his snout, until he came to a page with three pictures that seemed to glow with radiance, etched with gold and silver.

"You think we should visit the light spirits? How did you know to get this book to show us?" Midna asked

Link shrugged as best as his four-legged form allowed him to. _Lucky guess?_

"But the light spirits hate us," Midna said, shaking her head. "It was a good idea, Link, but there's no way they would help us now. _They tried to kill me._"

Link whined and looked at her with his best puppy-dog expression, hoping he looked pleading enough. _We don't have any other choices. Where else are we going to get that much light power?_

Thankfully, Midna got the idea. "Okay. You're right. It's all we've got left." _I hope I don't look as afraid as I am. I've got to stay strong for them._

"I'll stay here," Duskin offered. "So I can keep an eye on things."

"Last time you were supposed to do that, Nacht took over and all this happened!" She pointed out the window at the grayness outside.

Duskin bowed his head. "I know," he said, his voice lower and quieter than usual. "I won't let it happen again, I promise." He looked Midna in the eyes. "I will do anything to serve you, Princess."

Midna's heart seemed to stop for a moment as there was an uncomfortable pause. She could sense the tension that Link was feeling as he did his best not to growl. Duskin coughed and turned away to hide his awkwardness.

"Thank you," Midna said finally. "Are you sure you'll be okay with-" She stopped and let the scratching and beating on the door down the hall speak for itself.

Duskin nodded, although there was a knot in his stomach.

Midna looked at him one last time with a sense of dread, then turned and ran down the corridors and out of the palace, Link behind her.

:::

As they walked to the Ordon Spring, Midna felt the sickening worry grow. _We stole the Master Sword. How could we be foolish enough to return here?_ She felt like she was going to throw up. _What if they try to kill us again?_

They both slowed their pace, neither wanting to be the first to step into the light spirit's sacred place. Finally, they were there, and there were no excuses. They had to enter the spirit's domain whether they wanted to or not. Both of their worlds depended on it, as well as Zelda and Ilia's lives. They arrived at the spring, and everything was quiet. The trickle of water and the chirping of birds was much too peaceful a sound to be approaching an all-powerful spirit that will most likely kill you.

"Hello?" Midna called after a while. Her voice echoed slightly on the rock walls around the spring.

Everything was silent again for a second, then _Wham!_ Link felt the breath knocked out of him and he was lying on his side in the sand. He rolled onto his stomach up, his head pulsing, and the Spirit of Ordon floating before him. The other two spirits gradually appeared on either side of it. Link winced as he felt a burning at his stomach, where the spirit had hit him, and saw a glowing white scar there.

"Have we not warned you that you are no longer welcome in the light world?" the head spirit asked. "Unless you are here to return the Master Sword… but you do not appear to have that, do you?"

Midna withdrew the Master Sword from the sheath hidden on a belt beneath her cloak. "Yes," she said. "We have it, but I have no intention of returning it."

"Then you must face the consequences." The light around the spirits grew brighter as they prepared to attack.

"Wait!" Midna said, holding up a hand. She placed the sword on the ground and backed a step away. "We meant no harm by taking the Master Sword. We were trying to-"

"You were trying to save the Twilight Kingdom. We are sworn to protect the Master Sword, and what happens to the Twilight Kingdom is no concern of ours."

"Okay. If you want to be selfish, so be it. But what happens in the Twilight Kingdom also affects Hyrule, in case you did not know. Nacht is not the only problem here. It seems he has released a monster, the spirit of a Twili named Shadon."

"This is no concern of ours," the spirit repeated.

"It is. Nacht may be happy with ruling the Twili Kingdom, but he has bit off more than he can chew in releasing Shadon. Shadon can be controlled by no one, and he lives for power and destruction. If you think he will stop with the Twilight Kingdom, you are fools."

"_You_ are a fool in speaking to us in such a way, but if what you say has any truth in it… then we have no choice but to assist you."

Link stood up despite the burning pain at his stomach. _Midna helped save our world. She nearly died twice because she was willing to save a world that was not her own._ Link said all of this in his mind, but he was sure the light spirits would understand his speech. If only they would understand what he was saying.

Apparently, they did. They all three nodded at Link and the Ordon spirit said, "You are right. We have been wrong to not trust the Hero of Time himself, and selfish not to help a friend of light, even if she is of Twilight." They then turned and bowed slightly to Midna.

Midna wondered what Link said to them. _Whatever it was, it seems to have worked._ "So you will help us?"

"Yes. What do you require of us?"

:::

Midna, Link and the Ordon light spirit teleported to Gerudo Mesa. Once there, the spirit turned to them and a familiar item appeared, floating in the air. It had a swooping form, and crystalline shapes hung from it. _The tears of light._ "Use this to save your friends, then return here."

Midna accepted it with gratitude, and Link focused his wolf senses in order to find Zelda and Ilia. It took some time searching through the vast desert, but eventually they found them, and used the power of the tears to transform them back to normal.

"What has happened?" Zelda asked, holding her head and looking dizzy and faint.

"Nacht appeared. He transformed you into ghosts, but you're okay now." Midna explained.

"Where's Duskin?" Ilia asked.

Link flicked his ears in annoyance. _Of course. She's only known Duskin for about a day and she's suddenly concerned with where he is._

Ilia glared at Link, picking up on his irritation. _Maybe I wouldn't care so much for him if you gave me more attention._ Then she relaxed and kneeled to his height. "Thank you for coming back and rescuing us."

_What else was I to do?_ Link ran over and licked her cheek, and a thought hit him like the light the spirits had scarred him with only moments before. _I haven't felt this close to Ilia in over a year… How could I have forgotten how much I loved her?_ He felt guilt gnawing at him. _She's done nothing wrong, and I've nearly ignored her this past year because I was too busy moping around. Yet, she's stayed with me this whole time._ He looked into her eyes and hoped his face could show emotion just as well in wolf form. He wanted to say he was sorry for the way he'd acted, but only a whine came out instead.

Ilia looked sad as she scratched behind his ear and stood up. _Why does this all have to be so complicated? And while we're dealing with the fate of the world, too!_ She felt powerless and caught in-between, like they were just waiting to see what would happen.

Meanwhile, Midna stood there, unsure what to think. She didn't even know how to feel as this fusion of happiness, sadness, jealousy and anxiety rolled around inside her.

Thankfully, Zelda broke the awkward silence. "So, what is our plan of action?"

"We have to get back to the light spirit now," Midna said, a smile on her face as the gears turned in her head. "Then I'll explain my idea." _I think everything's going to work out now. At least the saving the world part._

:::

Author's Note: _Please, please continue to review! Not many chapters left… for part one, that is! Mwuah-ha-ha! I'm planning a sequel since I've gotten such positive feedback. I would like to know: what do you think of Prince Duskin? I like to add characters to my fanfiction and I was wondering what the readers thought of him._


	10. Chapter 10: Fallen Hero

Duskin's POV:

I could feel my heart beating in my chest, like a ticking clock I knew was running out of time. I was just waiting for the alarm to go off. I'd stayed behind to protect the castle and I would do that until the end, though it had become a prison within only an hour's time. I was trapped in the palace with these monsters that had long since escaped the room we'd tried to lock them in.

For two hours, I'd been trying to avoid the shadow beasts, but more and more seemed to appear out of nowhere and I was running out of hiding places. I wished I was more like Link, as much as I despised him at times. He never seemed to run out of courage like I did.

I ran to the library, hiding in the shadows, although I knew it would do no good. The monsters were designed to dwell in darkness. I pulled a random book off the shelf. _Twili Poetry_. I grabbed a quill pen and scrawled a note to Midna on a blank page at the beginning of the book.

_Dearest Princess,_

I remembered that Midna hated when I called her princess and crossed that out.

_Midna, I love you. I know you do not return these feelings, but I had to let you know. I apologize that I was such a stuck-up coward in life. Forever yours, Duskin_

It was so… insufficient to tell her what I needed to say. It seemed too plain, but I was at a loss for words, so it would have to do. I then stuffed the book back into its place.

The monsters were outside the library. I could hear them beating on the door before they finally figured out how to open it. They weren't the brightest creatures, but I wasn't any less afraid of them because of it. The huge doors creaked and one swung inward slowly. My heart felt as though it stopped when I saw them coming towards me.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion, and I couldn't hear for some reason. I stood and drew my sword, but my feet felt so heavy and my head was killing me. I guess it was the fear that did this to me. I put up a good fight and killed a few, but they seemed to come over me in a wave, there were so many. I blacked out.

When I awoke, everything felt wrong… like I was in the wrong body. The creatures were gone… _except for one._

I jumped up and prepared to fight… and so did it. I was looking in a mirror. I threw a heavt book at the mirror and shattered it. I refused to believe what I saw. They were doing this to me. They were the ones making me feel so confused. None of this was real.

But it was. I'd never liked light all that much, being a Twili and all. But this thing I felt now was different. It wasn't just a dislike for the brightness that hurt my head or the prejudice light creatures. I felt the need to destroy any and all light power.

I began to panic as I realized I was losing myself, then forced myself to calm down and hold on to all the rational thinking I had left in me. There was a loud, slow, banging sound, over and over, coming from down the hall, where the main entrance to the palace was. I got up and walked there, stumbling a couple of times, not used to this strange new body.

At the entrance, the shadow beasts were using one of the grand pillars of the throne room as a battering ram. I had assumed that it had been them who had locked the door, in order to keep me in. But apparently they were trapped here as well. But by whom?

It didn't matter then. All that mattered was that I keep them from getting out. That I protect my princess. Illia's face appeared in my mind. _That I protect my princesses._

I charged towards the shadowbeasts and threw a few to the side, my vision red and blurred from the energy and rage I felt. The adrenaline was kicking in and it somehow gave me the strength to lift the entire battering ram myself. I swung it, slamming it into the other shadow beasts. No, not _other _shadow beasts. I refuse to be one of them.

The shadow beasts fell away as I swung the pillar, until each one vanished in a puff of smoke, curling in the air like a red ribbon, until all was silent. I dropped the battering ram, and it fell to the ground with a dull thud that echoed on the walls and vaulted ceiling. I collapsed to the ground, my energy sapped and the adrenaline gone.

I wrote with my claw on the ebony door one word: Ilia. And I died there, a monster. But my kingdom was safe.


	11. Chapter 11: Shadon

_It's been too long, I know, I know. People actually thought I had quit writing the story and I felt really bad about not writing. Haha. ^_^ But I'm back, and here's another chapter for you folks. I think it's a particularly good one if I do say so myself, so hopefully it'll make it up to you for taking so long. Enjoy!_

Midna and Link, having left Duskin to guard the Palace, went and gathered the three light spirits, along with Princess Zelda, and had now met at Arbiter's Grounds beside the portal. "The Spirits of Twilight could not defeat Shadon on their own," Midna explained to them. "They were awaiting the hero of light that would save them."

"Yes," Zelda replied. "Link is the hero of light, is he not? Why can he not simply face Shadon and defeat him now?"

"That seems like the obvious answer, but I've thought this through. First of all, we have released Shadon from the monster's body that was containing him. We must find another physical form to trap him in, in order to fight him. More importantly, I don't think the light power we have is enough."

The light spirits seemed to grow in size and brightness, as they spoke with one loud voice, "You do not think the light is powerful enough to defeat one Twili? The three light spirits, the hero of light, and the wielder of the light arrows are not enough? How dare you underestimate our power?"

"Please, understand!" Midna pleaded, shielding her eyes from their glow. _Maybe they haven't completely accepted me like I thought._ The spirits' luminosity died down a little, and she continued, "Shadon was originally a Twili, but he used the power of our dark ancestors, and became a creature of darkness. Only pure light can defeat pure darkness, but as long as the shadow crystal is in Link, he is a creature of twilight – half dark, half light. He cannot be the hero of light unless we remove the crystal."

"How shall we do that?" Zelda asked.

"We are going to pay a visit to the Spirits of Twilight."

:::

Midna, Link, Zelda and the Light Spirits teleported to the Twilight Realm, and Midna led them to a garden behind the palace, enclosed with black marble walls, where strange twilight plants filled the area. Zelda shivered as she looked at the sky. _Everything here seems so quiet and empty. It gives me the creeps._

Midna pushed aside a silvery plant with huge leaves to reveal a huge pool of crystal clear water, in the center of which was a black fountain with aqua-blue etchings and topped with a statue of a Twili woman. Zelda found herself drawn by the beauty of the statue, but it was also very eerie. She knew it was ridiculous, but the stone eyes seemed to be staring right at her. She turned her face away quickly. _Midna and I have become very close, like sisters. But I'm not sure I'll ever know what it's like to be Twili._

"This is one of the springs of the Twilight Spirits," Midna said, standing before the pool. "Twilora is the most powerful of the Twilight Spirits as Ordona is the most powerful of the Light Spirits."

The other two light spirits were about to protest, but they knew it was true and thought better of it.

When the first of the Twilight Spirits did not appear after a moment, Midna flipped a silver coin into the pool. "Twilora, please come. We need your power."

Nothing happened, and Zelda was about to point out that obvious fact when in the crystal clear water appeared a black inky swirl that grew larger and larger, flowing through the water. The dark spiral seemed to pull itself up out of the water and begin to take shape as the water became clean once again.

The inky smudge had now taken form completely, and the spirit Ordona gazed into a dark reflection of itself.

Zelda was left breathless. The two were exactly alike except that while one shined with a white and gold light, the other was like black shadow, the only light on it the faintly glowing, pulsating blue designs on its body. She stared at the sight until Midna's voice brought her back to her senses.

"Twilora," Midna began. "We came to ask your assistance-"

The Spirit of Twilight cut her off while still gazing at Ordona. "Why have you brought these light creatures?" it rumbled.

"To fight Shadon."

"We are the most powerful spirits of the Twilight Realm. We can handle him ourselves."

"Then why didn't you?"

Zelda felt as though her heart had flown into her throat as Midna said that. _Midna is always addressing powerful spirits as though they were just any person. One day she will pay. I hope today is not that day._

Surprisingly, the Twilight Princess was not struck down with a bolt of energy for her rudeness. Instead, Twilora had no response.

"We brought the Hero of Light," Midna said calmly.

Link stepped forward.

"A beast?" Twilora's voice sounded mocking. "Must we keep the Hero of Light on a chain?"

Link kept back his desire to growl. It would only reinforce the idea that he was a wild animal. Besides, he already had one scar from angering a spirit; he didn't need another.

"This is his Twilight form," Midna explained. "He was wounded with a shadow crystal, so he can't return to his regular self now. That's why we came to you. We thought you could remove the crystal from his shoulder."

"Why do you not get your Light Spirits to do this?"

A hint of pink appeared on Midna's pale face. _Do they think I've completely given up my kingdom for the Light World? _"They're not _my _Light Spirits," she mumbled. "That is, it's not as though I'm-"

"Stop babbling," Twilora interrupted. "We shall discuss your loyalties later. I assume the Light Spirits cannot do what you ask of us?"

Midna nodded and Ordona and the others' light seemed to dim slightly.

"Bring the Blue-Eyed Beast forward," Twilora said.

Link came forward on his own, and the Spirit of Twili came closer to him. Link felt as though turning and fleeing, but he stood still and closed his eyes as the spirit touched noses with his, feeling surprisingly more solid than he'd expected. They were awash in sapphire light for a second, and when Link opened his eyes, looking down, he saw two feet. Not paws, human feet in boots.

He examined his face in the pool of water and nearly laughed with joy. Twilora had disappeared, but he said into the air, "Thank you," and hoped the spirit heard him. Midna walked over to him and hugged him, and Link found it hard to speak. Was it because he was used to speaking wolf now? Or because he always found it hard to find the right words when he wanted to talk to her. He had an idea which of those might be true, but he'd held the fear for too long that he may never be able to tell her what he wanted.

"I love you," he said.

Midna kissed him in response.

Link slammed his fist into the ebony door and the sound echoed in the otherwise silent room. "I can't believe this happened!" he shouted. "We were only gone a few hours! We should have never left him here to defend the palace on his own."

They had returned to Palace to find it completely empty, only torn tapestries and broken vases to show that there had been a fight there.

"Perhaps they took him hostage," Zelda suggested. "Or he got away and is simply hiding."

"No," Midna said. "He is dead. I can feel it." Tears ran from her eyes and she felt as though she would throw up any second.

No one said anything for a long time as they all looked down, not daring to meet each other's eyes. Finally Link moved from where he'd been leaning against the wall and noticed the inscription scratched into the bottom of the door. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. _No one has to know about it._

Midna was wiping the tears from her face with the sleeves of her robe, and Link knew that even if Twili didn't naturally have red eyes, hers would be red right now. She sniffled and said, "What is it?" her voice thick with sorrow.

"Nothing," Link lied, choking up and coughing. He moved in front of the message on the door.

"Yes it is something! Show it to me!" Midna ran over to where he was and pushed him aside, falling to her knees. Immediately she fell silent. "Oh," she said. That was all. There was still sadness, but the tears stopped. There was a hollowness inside her that went deeper than she could say. After a moment, she finally brought herself to voice her thoughts. "He barely even knew her," she whispered, "but I suppose I did push him away from me. He was always so devoted to me, and I took him for granted."

Zelda kneeled beside her and hugged her tight, and after a few seconds of hesitation Link joined them. It took a moment, but after a while the awkwardness washed away and it was just the three of them, their tears mingling on the palace floor.

:::

Link tried to ignore the eerie sound of his own footsteps echoing in the empty corridor as he walked. He tried to push the thought away that there may be more shadow beasts and that he had left Zelda and Midna alone in the entrance room of the palace, with no weapons to defend themselves with. He tried to forget all this, and pay attention to the task at hand. He tried, but it was all to no avail.

He swallowed painfully and continued walking down the hallway, trying to gather enough courage to do what he had come to do. Finally, he called out, "Shadon!"

There was a sound of rushing air and Link thought he felt his heart stop. The torches that kept the hall lit suddenly went out and he was left in cold darkness. He fumbled in the darkness to find the wall and walk himself to a door, but he stumbled and fell when he felt something brush against his leg. This time, he knew his heart must have skipped a beat.

He crawled across the floor until he felt the cold stone of the wall, which he rested his back against. The fear began to build in him as he sat there, and the more he tried to reassure himself, the more afraid he became. It seemed to rise inside of him until he felt he would scream out from the terror.

Suddenly, he caught a glint of light out of the corner of his eye. _The Master Sword!_ How could he have forgotten? He unsheathed his sword and a small glow of golden light just barely lit up the area around him. He sighed with relief when he saw that the thing that had touched his leg and tripped him was merely a fold in the carpet that ran along the corridor.

The relief did not last long, however. There was another gush of air, and Link somehow knew that it was not just a draft problem in the castle. _Focus,_ he told himself. _Don't let the fear get a hold of you._ "Shadon!" he called again, then louder, hoarser, "Come out and fight!"

He abruptly felt a presence in his mind, dark but soothing. His thoughts felt thick and fuzzy, and something seemed to be calling him to transform into a wolf again. About to give in, he caught himself before he could. Although he could not see well enough in the dim light, he recognized the feeling as the one he got whenever shadow fog was present. _I can't use the Master Sword to fight when I'm a wolf! I've got to hold onto my human form! _He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as pain seared through his body. He knew the only way to alleviate the pain was to go into his twilight form; as a being of light, his body could not take this much twilight.

But only the Hero of Light could do this job. He would have to suffer through the pain it takes to be and remain human.

He thought he heard sinister laughter in his still hazy mind. "You're much stronger than I would have guessed," a voice said. It sounded as though it were far-away and in a tunnel, but that was still the shadow fog's effect on him. A second later, what appeared to be a large, floating black flame appeared at the very edge of the area of light the Master Sword emitted. The dark, cold fire flickered, its flames for a moment taking the shape of a Twili face, then disappearing so quickly that Link wasn't sure if he had seen it at all.

_Shadon._

The dark blaze reappeared, now no sign of a face visible. Link stared at it in fear and shock for a second, before furrowing his eyebrows and clenching the sword even tighter. _This is the Twili – no, the monster – responsible for everything: all the pain and suffering… Duskin's death._ His head felt hot, and before he knew it, he was running at Shadon with the Master Sword. Everything seemed a blur around him as he rushed towards the enemy blindly, feeling as though all his rage and sorrow were focused into the point of the sword, which seemed to glow brighter.

He felt his sword go through thickness, which caught him off guard as he had just stabbed a fire made of shadow and twilight. He pulled his sword back and looked around. Shadon was gone. _Could it really have been that easy?_ No, nothing ever was. He looked around in the darkness until the flame reappeared. He stabbed, narrowly missing. It reappeared and he stabbed again. And again and again and again and again.

Panting, he dropped to the floor. He heard a rush of wind high above his head, and noticed a pair of glowing, sickly green eyes in the corner of the ceiling. "You coward!" he shouted upwards. "You coward! Why don't you fight me fairly, in a physical body?"

"Why would I do that?" Shadon asked. "You are doing a good enough job of killing yourself."

Link knew it was true. He could not keep this up forever, and Shadon would not be fooled into entering a physical, mortal form. The situation seemed hopeless until an idea entered into Link's mind. The only problem was that it involved dying.

:::

_:-O Gasp! There's only one chapter and an alternate ending left to go!_


	12. Chapter 12: The Finale

_If stuff doesn't make sense, just keep reading until everything is explained. If it still doesn't make sense then I'm sorry. Play some cool, non-distracting music in the background to fit the mood. It'll make it seem cooler, like a movie or something! At least, that's what I do…_

:::

Link felt the sword penetrate his chest, but it wasn't a physical sword and there was no blood. It was much worse. The darkness wrenched his heart and seemed to pierce straight through him: he wondered whether he had done the right thing, whether he had been right. The thoughts faded away, though, as the shadow fog clouded his mind once more. He felt his body transforming into that of the wolf, as he could no longer fight the effects of the fog. Black spots appeared before his eyes until they blotted out his entire vision, and his breath caught in his throat.

The blue-eyed beast fell to the floor, motionless

:::

"Midna! Come back! We don't know what's going on!"

Midna responded without slowing down or turning to look at Zelda, "Exactly! I can't stand it any longer. Link could be in serious trouble right now and I refuse to stand around waiting on him."

Zelda could not argue, so she simply nodded and followed behind, the rustling of her dress the only sound as they walked briskly down the corridor. They had nearly reached the place where Link had gone to search for Shadon when Midna paused.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

"I don't hear-"

_**Slam!**_

Midna shrieked as a shadow beast shot out of the darkness like an arrow and pinned her against the stone wall, Zelda immediately reaching for the closest thing that could be wielded as a weapon, which happened to be a candlestick on a nearby table. She spun around and beat the monster over the head a few times before it let go of Midna and slunk off into the shadows once more.

"Thanks," Midna panted. "I didn't know you could do that."

Zelda shrugged, but Midna could tell by the smile on her face that she was trying hard to remain formal as a princess should be and avoid bragging.

Midna moved her arm slightly and immediately winced with pain. "I think I broke my arm when the shadow beast threw me into the wall."

"Do we need to find a safe place to rest?"

"No… We have to find Link. I don't want… I don't want what happened with Duskin to happen again."

They were about to continue making their way through the palace when they heard the sound of something running toward them… and turned to see a pack of shadow beasts coming straight at them.

Zelda had her candlestick ready, but Midna held her back. "There's no way we can fight all of them." She grabbed two torches off the wall and passed one to Zelda. "It's the only way," she said, tossing the torch between them and the shadow beasts. Zelda did the same, and a wall of fire soon rose on the carpet in the hallway. "Now run," Midna said. "We don't have much time."

They ran until they came to a hallway blocked off by a heavy wooden door, which they opened. They entered the passageway, which was unusually cold and dark. None of the torches on the wall were lit, but there was a faint glow from something lying on the floor. Midna picked it up, and gasped when she saw that it was the Master Sword. She held it up and moved it around the room to cast some light on the area… and was shocked with what she found.

As soon as she saw the wolf's shape lying on the floor, Midna screamed and dropped to her knees. "I can't believe this happened again!" She slung the Master Sword across the room, and Zelda jumped back to avoid it as it hit the floor with a ringing sound. Midna now had her face buried in wolf Link's mane of gray fur. "I can't believe this happened again…"

Zelda looked back at the door behind them and was alarmed to see the red-orange glow of fire through the crack under the door. "Midna, come on!" When Midna did not reply, Zelda hissed, "NOW! We have to keep moving or we'll be burnt alive!"

Midna tried to lift Link's body, but recoiled with pain because of her injured arm. Zelda ran to her side and helped her lift him up, and they ran out of the palace with the body of Link between the two.

:::

Midna and Zelda huddled together outside, watching as ember sparks made their way to the heavens. Midna's home was burning, and there was nothing they could do about it. She stroked Link's thick, rough fur, but she couldn't bear to look at him. In her mind, the scene of her finding him lying there played over and over, making her feel sick.

_This is all my fault,_ she told herself, and the more she thought it, the more she believed it. She felt as though she were in a deep, dark hole she would never find her way out of. _If only I had never brought them into this…_

Zelda placed her hand on Midna's and her blue eyes met Midna's orange. "Link did this because he loved you, and I'm sure he would have no regrets. You needed his help and you had no idea this would happen."

"Thank you," Midna whispered, the quiet voice of a timid child. She couldn't bring herself to believe Zelda's reassurance just yet, but perhaps her friend's words could help her heal someday. For now, she was stuck with the guilt. _Maybe Link would have done the same thing all over again for me, but I would do everything different if I could. I made the stupid mistake of dragging everyone into this, and I paid for it by losing the thing I treasure most._

:::

It was as quick as blinking. A fraction of a second after closing his eyes, Link reopened them in a flash to find himself standing in the middle of a spring of cool, clear water. A field of golden clouds stretched out in all directions, and the mark of the triforce that had been on Link's hand since birth now glowed with a fierceness he had never seen before. Even something about his own presence seemed strangely ethereal; he felt a certain lightheadedness that made him feel as though he were not there at all. He wondered if this were heaven.

"Welcome home, Hero of Light, Hero of Time, Blue Eyed Beast," said female voice, both airy and powerful-sounding.

_Hero of time? Who is the hero of time? Am I? Does it matter?_

Link looked around to see who was there, but his vision seemed to blur through what he realized were tears. He did not bother to blink them away, but just stood there, everything a watery golden haze as he listened to the voice he wished would go on forever.

"What you have chosen to do is very noble, Link," the unknown speaker continued. "Therefore, I allow you to return to the Twilight Kingdom and complete your task."

Link, forgetting everything of himself in these short few moments, probably would have never moved from that spot, but he had no choice in the matter. He was immediately falling through the clouds in a rush of speed and light, still standing straight up. It felt like being born again; he wanted to return to that golden place where everything was safe and warm.

When he stopped falling, he found himself standing in the corridor again, as though he had just passed through the ceiling like a ghost. But, then again, he _was_ like a ghost, wasn't he? Shadon had killed him himself. The phantom that had once been a Twili was still there, as all that Link had experienced between his death and return to the corridor had taken place in absolutely no time. The shadowy, inky flame that served as Shadon's body flickered and shrunk back, and his green slits of eyes narrowed when he saw Link.

"I thought I killed you," he hissed, floating backwards, away from Link.

"You did." Link retrieved the Master Sword from where it had fallen, and poised himself with his sword raised high, ready to attack. A strength seemed to rise inside of him from within, and the words he spoke did not seem like his own. It was like watching everything that happened from within his body, without actually being in control of it. "But a holder of the Triforce never truly dies. I remembered Ganondorf and how though he died, he seemed to only have more power in the afterlife."

"It was over a hundred years before Ganondorf returned! How did you know you could come back immediately?"

"I didn't. But I had to try. And good will always defeat evil in the end, no matter how long it takes." A smile played over Link's lips. He was light-headed. He felt like light itself, glowing and hopeful. He could feel an end to the darkness coming. He lifted the Master Sword, now glowing with an unearthly light and endued with new power, and slashed through Shadon's body with one swift motion. The flame became a curl of dark charcoal smoke that drifted upwards a little, then was sucked downwards and through the floor and was no more.

Link closed his eyes, breathed in sharply, and lost consciousness.

:::

Midna jumped back quickly with a gasp, jerking her hand back close to her body.

"What is it?" Zelda asked, alarmed.

"Nothing. I… It was just static. I got shocked, is all." _Why would Link's fur have static in it?_ She watched as the wind played in his fur, so lifelike, and dared to reach out and touch him again. Suddenly, she felt a stirring under her hand, and she knew it wasn't the wind.

Eyelids flickered open, revealing eyes a crisp, familiar shade of blue.

Midna choked on a sob, her hands flying to cover her mouth. Tears spilled from her eyes as she laughed like she'd never laughed before.

:::

_Okay, I lied. One more chapter to go, and I changed my mind about having an alternate ending. _ Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Hope it wasn't too cheesy. Hope you stick around for the last chapter! ^_^ 'Til next time… -Elisafairy_


	13. Chapter 13: Together

**Last chapter! I mean it this time!**

**:::**

Three spirits looked upon their reflections in a huge, round mirror. Which were the spirits and which were the reflections? That depends on where you are from, the world of Light, or that of the Twilight Kingdom. But at last the dark spirits and the light had been reconciled, brought together by the hero who walked in both worlds, the wolf that stood by the Twilight Princess' side, on her side of the mirror.

Shadon had been defeated, Nacht left powerless and almost forgettable without the monstrous other Twili's aid, and all was as it should be.

Almost. Link reached for the human part of him, which he knew was trapped somewhere within this blue-eyed beast. But he could no longer feel it, no longer transform at will. The only thing left in him to remind him he was still part human was his deep, undying affection for Midna, who he may never be able to speak to again. He whined and nuzzled her hand with his cold, wet nose. She scratched behind his ear and he shied away. _Am I resigned to be her pet for the rest of my life, and nothing more?_ He felt a growl rumbling in his throat.

"What's wrong with Link?" Midna wondered aloud, alarmed at his strange behavior. _Why hasn't he transformed and said anything to me yet?_

The leader of the Twili spirits spoke up. "He was dead, and his spirit brought back in order to defeat Shadon. When he returned to his body, it was in wolf form." He hesitated, then said, "He may never be able to return to his original form; I fear that that part of him has either died or gone too far within himself to be retrieved."

They were all silent for a moment. "There is a light equivalent to the shadow crystal in our world," one of the light spirits finally said. "It may not work, but…"

"But what? Could it turn him back?" Midna's hopes rose, though she knew it may be too good to be true.

"No," he continued. "But if shadow crystal transforms a light dweller, then perhaps light crystal could transform a Twili."

:::

A golden wolf loped through the green valley, a sparkling blue stone hanging from a leather cord around her neck. She leaped onto a crag of rock that jutted from the side of the hills at the foot of the mountains.

Her mate, a gray wolf with sapphire eyes and a thick mane of fur, turned to her and licked her muzzle. _Hello._

_Hello._ She turned to out over the valley, watching a hawk soaring on the breeze, her eyes narrowed against the wind. She said nothing for a long while.

_Don't worry,_ he said. _You can always take off the crystal and return to your people._ Whatever makes her happy, he thought, though he couldn't imagine letting her go.

_I wouldn't dream of leaving you, blue eyed beast. I'm sure my younger sister Astra will do fine as the new Twilight Princess, and Nacht has been locked up tight in the dungeon._

_I will miss everyone back in the village, _he told her. He hoped Illia would find someone else some day. Link had been expected to be the next chief of Ordon Village, but now that he was gone, Illia would take his place. She would be the first woman to lead Ordon, and Link wondered if Colin would succeed her.

Still, he had been looking forward to the day when he could lead his village and care for the people there. He turned to the golden wolf. _Midna,_ he said. _I think we should start a pack._

:::

THE END. ^_^ (Finally! *breathes sigh of relief*)


End file.
